Our school had some guidelines for the report we had to write during our trip. I'm pretty sure I've covered most of the topics on there, but I'm writing this overview just in case I haven't.
What was your workplace like and what kind of work tasks did you have?
The workplace was an office-like environment. The people there were really nice, and were always willing to help. Our work tasks consisted of doing some design exercises: logos, book covers... They also had us sit with different people, to watch what they were working on. We also went to see the GMIT campus one day.
Did you learn something new?
Yes! One thing right off the bat: I learned what a prospectus is. I had never heard of it before, but it's a book/pamphlet for students about the different courses the school has to offer. I've also learned about different things like video concepts and budgeting, different website building software... Then there's the stuff you'll learn after living in a new place for a week: the bus schedules, the bus stops, what stores are in your area... I've never lived on my own before (well, I was living with a friend in an AirBnB apartment so that's not considered as "living alone") so I've learned about some daily chores.
What are some differences in the work cultures?
I don't have a lot of experience in Finnish work culture yet, so I can't say for sure... But people were quite chatty around the office, which I'm assuming isn't the case in most Finnish office spaces.
How do the methods, materials, and equipment differ from Finnish ones?
I honestly think that they're quite similar. Most of the people used the Adobe programs and Mac computers, which we use at school. One thing that I noticed is that everyone had a lot of different programs open at the same time, which lead to a messier desktop.
Did you have any problematic situations? If so, how did you solve them?
Things went surprisingly smoothly! Though, on the last day when we were leaving, we had a bit of a problem, I suppose. We were supposed to leave but James wasn't in the office. We were a bit conflicted, should we wait until he came back? After panicking slightly, we went to another person and told them we were leaving, then asked if we should wait for James or not. We wrote down our phone numbers and emails so James could contact us.
Why should you do an international internship?
You really do get a lot out of the experience! When you go abroad, you get to learn more about the different culture! You get to explore a different country! You also get to improve your language skills, by actually using the language! I personally had already been using English in my day-to-day life, so I didn't improve that much, but it can be a great opportunity for those who don't! I also love traveling, so this was super great. When you do an internship, you're already going to a new place, so it isn't too much of a push to also go to a new country. This was honestly such a great opportunity! It would be a shame to pass something like this up. So if you have the chance, then definitely do it!
How did you prepare for your internship? Was there something you should have put more effort into?
I spent a lot of time doing research on different things. I looked up buses from Dublin to Galway, and from Galway to Dublin. I wrote down timetables, even for buses we didn't end up using! I came across a problem on timing, while looking up the busses. Our flight left too early on Saturday. We would have had to walk all the way to the bus station around 4 AM to make our flight. So, naturally, I panicked at first. Then we decided to leave a day early and stay one night at a hotel in Dublin. So my advice is: look up some time schedules. You can find your way around almost any problem.
I also looked up our commute, and figured out the best options for us. Would we take the 401 bus and switch buses at Eyre Square? Or would we ride the 401 bus and walk the rest of the way.
I'm a person who can get stressed and anxious really easily, so I had to prepare myself and research a lot of things. Perhaps the one thing I didn't prepare for, was my phone charger breaking. Yup, I broke my phone charger! Luckily my friend had a spare charger which I could use for the rest of the trip. So while I prepared for all the bigger things like buses, commutes and so on, I didn't prepare for the smaller things.
Budget
In total our apartment was around 1 150 euro, which we split the cost in half. Our flights all together were around 500 euro, which again, we split in half. The bus to Galway from Dublin cost 20 euro (as did the return journey) and one bus ticket in Galway cost 2,40 euro: so our daily commute in total cost over 70 euro. So for now the total on my total is a bit under 950 euro. I didn't keep track of the money I spent on food, but we ate our lunches in cafes, mostly. The cost of my lunch was around 12 euro, I believe. We also shopped for groceries a lot, which I also didn't keep track of. Let's say the weekly amount for groceries was 50 euro. So now our total is somewhere under 1 300 euro. And those were all the necessities, which left me with money for other things like the arcade, the aquarium, books, souvenirs...
Public Transport
I've talked about the buses quite a bit. There are different buses, but the one stopping in Salthill (where we lived) was the 401 bus. As I said, the adult fare is 2,40 euro. Most of the buses are double-deckers, which also have screens inside that show the bus stops. The buses arrive every 20 minutes, and during rush hour they can be pretty full.
Describe your average work day, did you have any troubles with the language? How did people react to your presence?
Everyday I would wake up at 8 AM. We ate our breakfast, and left to catch the 9:06 bus. We would arrive at work before 10 AM every morning, and sit down at our assigned spot. I'd take out my laptop, and open up the project we were working on. Often times we were sketching ideas on our sketchbooks as well. Then at some point James would come to see how we've progressed, and some days we would then go sit with someone and they'd explain what they were working on. At 1 PM we went to lunch. Most of the time to a cafe. We would return the work and continue our project.
I didn't really have troubles with the language, but sometimes people would speak a bit quiet/mumble and I couldn't understand it at times. For the most part I understood, though. People seemed pretty positive about our arrival, and they made us feel welcomed.
General tips for others going abroad for an internship
Have fun! Embrace the foreign culture and get used to the everyday life! Don't stress too much about stuff, but stress enough to be somewhat prepared! People are generally willing to help! Keep some sort of journal with you to write about the things you've done throughout the day. I wrote this blog, but I've also sketched a lot in my sketchbook. Some sketches are related to what I've done but sometimes I would just sketch random stuff, but even those would remind me of Galway when I look at them again.
Tips for graphic designers going on international internships
This will wary from different places, but tip number one is to ask about the computer situation. Will you get to work on their computer or do you have to bring your own laptop? Do you have to have your own programs or will they supply you with temporary Adobe programs or something. I had to bring my own laptop. I already have an Adobe subscription, so I am not sure if they would have given me access to programs if I didn't.
This was it for this overview! Hopefully it was informative. I didn't include any pictures in this blog post, but I have plenty of pictures in my other posts!